We know trends like Keto are overrated. But let’s break down some fitness trends that are totally underrated for fat loss.

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Last time we talked about some of the most overrated fitness trends that the influencers keep pedaling.

Now it’s time to reverse the script and talk about the underrated fitness trends that most of the diet industry doesn’t really want you to know.

Because once you understand this stuff, you start to realize how little you need from the fitness marketing machine as a whole.

Remember, the fitness industry is a multi-billion dollar business.

It’s designed to sell you solutions to your problems.

If you’ve been following me for sometime (and you should, because I’m awesome) then you’ll know that I’m simply not a fan of this approach.

I try to make this stuff as simple for you as possible. Because, generally speaking, the weight loss game is a simple process. It’s just really hard to follow.

And the fitness industry knows this. So it adds to multiple layers of confusion purposefully.

• Eat carbs
• Don’t eat carbs
• Avoid fruit
• Drink only juice
• Run a lot
• Never run at all

And on and on and on.

Today, we’re going to dive into the three things that really are underrated for fat loss that I’ve noticed over my decade plus of coaching. You’ll learn why these things are so underrated and you’ll get the usual action items on how to make them all work for you.

Let’s get into it.

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Walking

I could go on and on about the benefits of walking. From an overall health standpoint. And also as a useful tool for calorie burning and fat loss.

Oh wait. I have gone on and on about walking. In fact, I wrote an entire guide to walking for weight loss and how to make it work for you.

I’ll let you click through and read that … then you can come back and enjoy the remainder of this article.

But the benefits of walking are endless:

• Improved cardiovascular health
• Increased calorie burning
• Benefits digestive health
• Can help with mental clarity (as long as you are mindful during your walk)

It’s low impact and just about anyone can do it.

So aim to get about 8,000 to 10,000 steps on average. It will go a long way towards getting you lean and toned. If that’s your goal.

Or it can just help you be a bit more healthy. 

Drinking Water

Somewhere in the fitness industry cesspool of marketing misinformation, they’ve suckered the masses into drinking all kinds of juices, shakes, smoothies.

All of them with the promise of being the hidden fat loss, skin replenishing, age-defying elixir of the gods that will make you look like a Kardashian at a Red Carpet event.

And yet they seem to totally overlook the most scientifically-proven liquid that can do all of the above.

Water.

Yep. That’s it. 

You need to drink more water.

Here’s just a sample of the benefits of drinking more water:

• Regulates the thermal condition of your body
• Keeps our joints lubricated
• Flushes toxins from the bloodstream
• Keeps our skin looking clean, clear and glowing
• Assists with digestion
• Aides in disease prevention (consuming eight glasses of water everyday has been shown to reduce the risk of colon cancer by 45%)

Water can suppress appetite, which is hugely important if you’re in a fat loss phase. Mitigating hunger is one of the biggest challenges you’ll face whilst trying to get lean.

H2O can also assist in the metabolizing of fat, and just like walking, drinking more water can improve digestion.

As I mentioned in my guide to drinking more water, you’ll want to aim to get about half of your body weight in ounces of water (ex: if you weigh 150 pounds, you’d need roughly 75 ounces of water … or about nine cups).

Eating at maintenance

You cannot diet forever. 

I know that you want to see results. And you want to see those results now. In our on-demand world, you’ve likely become quite accustomed to getting things quickly. 

But, that’s not how your body or metabolism works. 

The game of fat loss is one of patience. Taking your time with slow and measured results.

That includes taking diet breaks and spending time eating at maintenance. 

Here’s the simple truth:

You should be spending more time eating at maintenance than the time you spend trying to cut weight. 

A fat loss phase should be just that, a phase. Not a perpetual state of constant restriction. When you do this, your body and metabolism will adapt to the new lows in your energy balance equation.

I highlighted this situation in my guide to increasing your metabolism.

As you restrict calories for an extended period of time, your body gets efficient at utilizing that amount of energy to function and survive. As a result, you essentially develop a new maintenance level, the hormone leptin drops and you end up having a really hard time cutting weight.

There are three ways to get around this adaptation:

• Drop calories even further
• Increase daily activity
• OR increase your calorie intake

Assuming you are following all of the tips that I’ve provided in regards to exercise, you are likely moving enough. Not to mention, you probably won’t have the time to add even more movement into your day. So we can eliminate the exercise part.

Dropping calories could be an option, if your current calorie intake is not already low.

If you’re eating somewhere in the ballpark of about 1400-1500 calories for women or about 1800 calories for men, your calories are pretty low. Dropping calories again would be incredibly difficult.

So that leaves us with the only option: you must increase your calories.

This can happen with a simple diet break. A diet break is just what it sounds like. You take a break from cutting calories and eat at maintenance for a given amount of time. 

Keep in mind: this is eating at maintenance. Not eating like an asshole and just giving yourself an invite to stuff your facehole.

Most diet breaks should run about two weeks. However, the longer you’ve been in a deficit without one, the longer that diet break should last. Many people (particularly women that come from a pattern of yo-yo dieting and total restriction) likely need to eat at maintenance for six months or more.

Once that diet break is over, you get back to work on your deficit. Metabolism and hormonal health should be mostly up-regulated and you’ll be primed to drop weight and fat a bit easier.

Then the cycle continues.

If you have not taken a diet break … you need to do so.

Yes, the scale weight will increase slightly for the first week or so. No this is not all fat. 

It’s muscle glycogen (stored carbs, essentially), along with excess water and increased food volume (aka, poop).

Resist the urge to give up the break because of these increases in one week. Stay patient. 

Remember, you did not gain all of the unwanted weight overnight. You will not lose that unwanted weight overnight, either.

Thus, you must slow things down. The slow road is almost always the quickest path to victory.

Let me help you learn how to include these three fitness trends that are underrated for fat loss … 

I’m here to help you out. 

If you have any questions, reach out. I answer all of my emails at pete [at] petecataldo [.] com … Hit me up with the subject line “Underrated for fat loss” and I’ll answer any questions you have to make this work for you.

Or you can hit me up anytime on the socialz on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.

If you enjoyed this post, maybe you’d like more knowledge bombs from me. I’d be honored if you join my mailing list to get regular updates every time I post something pretty dope.